Now, if that gives you pause - if you think
"rock star" and "Christian" are as compatible as "oxy" and "moron" - then
consider this: Colton was a finalist on "American Idol" and soundly endorsed by
iconic Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler.

Follicles, then, notwithstanding, what really
makes Dixon stand out from the crowd is that he is a rock star, and he is a
Christian. He is what the faith-based genre has been in need of for years: a
musician with mainstream-level talent and appeal, and out-in-the-open,
Bible-based songs and lyrics.

"I remember growing up listening to Christian
music," Dixon said in a phone interview. "When I started making a conscious
decision to choose music, I just really loved Christian music. I loved that
feeling of, I don't know ... it just kind of made me feel better, you know,
instead of some songs bringing me down, or whatever. I enjoyed that, first of
all, but then started diving into the message and it lined up with where I was.
I loved that, as well.

"Whenever I felt that call on my life, at 13, I
was singing a Christian song, 'I Can Only Imagine' by Mercy Me. I just remember
thinking, it's like, 'OK, this is what I'm supposed to do.' "

Dixon auditioned for "American Idol" in season
10, but failed to make the final cut. In season 11, he accompanied his sister,
Schyler, to an audition. The judges remembered Dixon and asked him to give an
impromptu performance. He did; they sent him to Hollywood, and he quickly
became a frontrunner on, what was at that time, the biggest television show in
the world.

"I remember growing up and watching the show and
thinking, 'Man, it'd be really cool to be on there,' " Dixon said. "I'm sure
that's what most people think. Once you get past the excitement of making it
based on your voice or whatever, it's like, 'OK, I could be here to get the
glory myself, or I could do something totally for the kingdom, and just reflect
all this attention and focus it on the Lord.' That's kind of the realization I
had pretty early on. It was just like, 'Man, this could be really huge. This
could lead a lot of people to the Lord.' "

Following his time on "American Idol," Dixon
recorded his debut album, the aptly titled "A Messenger."

"I remember after the 'Idol' process just
praying really hard if God opened this mainstream door to bring faith-based
music to mainstream music, or if he put me on that platform to bring some
mainstream fans to Christian music. I ultimately came to the conclusion that he
would reveal himself in the writing sessions that I was going to have at the
time. And 'You Are' was one of the songs that I completed in one of those
writing sessions. And I just remember thinking and feeling, it's like, 'OK,
this is it. This is what I wanted to be.' I just wanted to make sure it lined
up with what God wanted," Dixon said.

Dixon's goal in making "A Messenger" was to
imitate the original news-bearer.

"I think there are Christian artists in bands
who are set on just challenging the church and writing for the church, and
that's awesome. We need that. But we also need people to take their music and
be going out into the world. That's what Jesus did, ultimately," Dixon said.
"He wasn't hanging out with all of his church friends. He was out hanging with
the prostitutes and the drinkers and you name it. It's like, man, he was really
trying to reach that lost world.

"The music that's challenging the church sounds
a lot different from the music that's trying to reach that lost world - the
lost generation. You have artists like Casting Crowns who are so good at what
they do and, man, they will really rock my world when it comes to diving into
the word. But then you have bands like Switchfoot who aren't as specific or
detailed with their faith, but they're still challenging non-believers to think
about their lives or what the bigger picture is.

"I like to put myself somewhere in the middle as
far as what I'm trying to do."

Dixon's faith, mixed with his solid rock chops
and super-energetic live show, makes him a favorite with believers and, more
importantly, with non-believers, too.

"Jesus wasn't hanging out with the church folks.
He was out trying to win the lost over," Dixon said. "I think that's what we're
called to do. It's what my whole record is about - it's about being a
messenger. Taking this message out into the world. And hopefully I've been able
to do both. From what I've seen, that's what it's been doing. That was my
goal."

It's hard to imagine for KING & COUNTRY's
Luke and Joel Smallbone, when growing up in Australia and then Tennessee,
factored Buffalo into their future plans. But Western New York, surprisingly,
has become a strong Christian music market, and Kingdom Bound a can't-miss
concert venue.

"Most of the time when you go north, the less
popular Christian radio is, which means less popular Christian artists," Luke
said in a phone interview. "The fact that Buffalo is one of those kind of areas
where it's been very successful there for a number of years is very unique.
Honestly, it's probably purely because of Kingdom Bound. ... That, probably, has
had the greatest impact in that area. Without Kingdom Bound, you probably would
be just like the rest of the northeast, where there isn't a whole lot that goes
on in Christian music and Christian radio.

"To have Buffalo as that special town - hey,
we're cool with that."

Last year, for KING & COUNTRY made their
debut at Kingdom Bound. After performing as backup and then guest singers for
their sister, Rebecca St. James, Luke and Joel finally claimed one of the
headlining spots.

"It was fantastic," Luke said. "It was really
special."

"The funny thing about performing at Kingdom
Bound is we've been doing that event for a number of years. So, to be able to
have our own little set and all was really special - especially when we've been
going for probably 15 years off and on," he added.

Buffalo is just one of many places Luke and Joel
have toured in the past 18 months in support of their critically acclaimed and
award-winning debut album, "Crave."

"It has been the busiest years of my life, hands
down," Luke said. "It has been crazy, crazy busy. They've also been the most
fulfilling years of my life. I've never worked harder. I've never struggled,
actually, with certain things as much as I have, as far as just being exhausted
and trying to find time and all that. But at the same time, just to see kind of
God's hand on different things and how things have worked out, the different
opportunities that we've been given - it's been a journey that we probably
can't take a whole lot of credit for.

"There's something really nice about that,
because if you think it's because of your big things or what you're good at
that makes you successful, that can be a dangerous road. Truly we look at these
opportunities as God-given opportunities, and they don't happen all the time.
And we see many artists in our situation that have not been given those. And so
we cherish them. We respect them. And we try to do as much as we can with
them."

One of those opportunities was an appearance on
"The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."

"Man, it was unbelievable," Luke said.

While success came early for Luke and Joel with
for KING & COUNTRY, that doesn't mean it happened overnight. In truth,
nothing about the brothers' rise has been fast or easy.

"We grew up in the music industry," Luke said.
"We grew up doing music. I was a lighting designer for a while, and my brother,
Joel, was a stage manager, and we both did background vocals and different
things. Honestly, the best thing that ever happened to us was that everything
was really, really hard.

"You know, Joel and I have been working on music
for eight years. People would've thought, 'Oh, because they're related to
Rebecca ... they would be able to get record deals.' ... It was the opposite. It
was harder, because people thought there's no way lighting can strike twice.

"Honestly, people in other bands probably don't
necessarily like sharing this, but it's the struggle that really helped us. It
was the fact that it was really, really, really hard; that we wrote ridiculous
amounts of songs; and we worked until we were numb at times. We were up all
night trying to figure out, 'Hey, how do you write a song? What makes it good?
What makes it connect with listeners.'

"I think it's probably the fact that everything
was hard for us that has actually helped us be successful."

for KING & COUNTRY will perform Tuesday,
Aug. 6, at Kingdom Bound's PAC Stage.

"Our hope is for it to be high energy," Luke
said.

"We try to make it to where it's an entertaining
show, to where when we do speak, and when we talk about the things that really
matter, that the youth out there listen. Because they go, 'Oh, man, they just
did all this crazy stuff. Now they're there talking about respect and honor in
relationships and these types of things,' " he added. "Our hope is that it will
be high energy, entertaining, but also with a significant message."